Trained pharmacists releasing pressure on GPs?

Question

Here in Spain the pharmacists are trained to prescribe medicine for minor complaints which stops people badgering the GPs for no reason thus enabling them to have more time with patients. WOuld that work in the UK?

Answer 1

It works very well here, very rare anyone turns up at an A & E weith nothing more than being drunk, and no one turns up at clinics to timewaste, I think it should be rolled out across the UK, after all the pharmacists have better knowledge than many GP's on the drugs and their uses and dosages

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

It is already being done. When the hospital asked my doctor to change my medication. The doctor asked the pharmacist and I got exactly the same stuff - different brand. the question is if we can't do a diagnosis these days without a battery of tests - why do we need Gps anyway? Why not have them do at least some work in hospitals where they could learn about modern medicine. Some are practising medicine as it was practised 50 years ago - poking, prodding and guessing. pharmacist are the drug experts, consultants the medical experts. The GP is a £100,000 a year waste of money. Coughs and colds and signs prescriptions and they get those wrong half the time.

Answer 4

Don't know about UK; there are more and more pharmacists with prescribing power in the US now. It for sure saves health care dollars. Nevertheless, the pharmacist should have adequate training in order to have prescribing privilage. Bottom line is the pharmacist has to know what he/she is doing, and his/her limits.

Answer 5

diagnosing a disease is the first step in medicne n then there comes priscribing a medicine. n ofourse a pharmacist cant have that knowlegde of diagnosing the porblem, but telling u in third wrold countiries not only pharmacist but even technicions are practising in rural areas n ther is no asking for them........quaks r always there. but i think it wont work in Uk, as peoples have more awarnace over there, so i wud say though pharmacist know abt the drug but not abt the diseas

Answer 6

If they are badgering for no reason then perhaps they need to be prescribed assurance!
It is already happening in UK,nurses,Occupational therapists,Helath visitors are able to prescribe in certain cases.However it is naive to see Drs as prescribing machines,hence the problem with telemedicine/web medicine etc.